1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a utility vehicle equipped with a cargo, under which a fore-and-aft oriented engine, a lateral axle, a hydrostatic transmission (hereinafter, referred to as “HST”) for transmitting power from the engine to the axle, and a mechanical transmission (such as a gear transmission) are disposed. Particularly, the invention relates to the utility vehicle equipped with a PTO shaft so as to be connected to an optional working device.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, as disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Gazette No. 2004-255918, there is a well-known utility vehicle a utility vehicle equipped with a cargo, under which a fore-and-aft oriented engine, a lateral axle, a hydrostatic transmission (hereinafter, referred to as “HST”) for transmitting power from the engine to the axle, and a mechanical transmission (such as a gear transmission) are disposed. The utility vehicle is equipped with a PTO shaft to be connected to an optional working device.
The fore-and-aft orientation of the engine is advantageous for efficiently transmitting power to the PTO shaft when the PTO shaft is disposed in the fore-and-aft direction so as to be drivingly connected to a working device disposed in front or rear of the vehicle. From this viewpoint, in the utility vehicle disclosed in the reference, a transmission casing disposed under the cargo supports the lateral axle, incorporates the mechanical transmission (gear transmission) in front of the axle, and incorporates the HST behind the axle. The fore-and-aft engine output shaft is inserted into the transmission casing so as to serve as a pump shaft of a hydraulic pump of the HST, and further projects rearward from a rear end of the transmission casing so as to serve as the PTO shaft.
However, with respect to the utility vehicle disclosed in the reference, the transmission casing is long in the fore-and-aft direction because transmission shafts of the mechanical transmission are extended in the fore-and-aft direction and the HST is disposed behind the axle. The fore-and-aft long transmission casing expands the fore-and-aft distance between front wheels and rear wheels so as to reduce the turnablity of the vehicle. Further, the HST is exposed rearward from the vehicle body so as to be disadvantageous in protection. Further, the rearward exposed HST restricts the downward rotatable range of a rear end of the cargo thereabove. To ensure a sufficient vertical rotatable range of the cargo, the cargo is required to have a considerably high bottom surface thereof, such as to reduce the capacity of the cargo.